Conferences

FDI World Dental Federation held a Global Consultation on Oral Health through Fluoride in Geneva on 17-19 November 2006. The consultation was jointly organized by FDI World Dental Federation, International Association for Dental Research (IADR), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

A follow-up conference was held in Beijing, China in September 2007. This conference was organized by FDI, IADR, WHO and Chinese Stomatological Association and was called the Conference on Oral Health through Fluoride for China and Southeast Asia.

The consultation, jointly organized by FDI World Dental Federation, the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), and the WHO, aimed to consider the actions needed to effectively reduce the global burden of dental caries. It draws on the alliance's range and areas of expertise: FDI is the unified voice of oral health professionals around the world;IADR advances research for the improvement of oral health worldwide; and WHO, the accepted leader in global health matters, advises governmental bodies throughout the world.

The benefits of fluoride for the prevention and control of dental caries has been known to the scientific and public health community for more than sixty years. While fluoride in various delivery systems is widely available in many developed countries, it is estimated that globally only 20 percent of the world's population benefit from appropriate exposure to fluoride.